Wait
by saltee
Summary: My first fanfic. Post shooting. I update very erratically. Review only if you want to.
1. Chapter 1

Ashley sat in the stiff hospital chair. She gazed at Spencer never once taking her eyes off of her. She wanted to cry, but she had no tears left. She softly groaned and dropped her head into her hand as memories of what had happened just four short hours ago flashed through her mind. She heard the warning shouts over and over, and could feel herself being pulled down to the ground. She was finally able to tear herself out of the flashback, and opened her eyes suddenly. She raised her head and looked at Spencer's face.

"I'm sorry." She whispered into the dim room. She wasn't supposed to be in the room by the rules of both the hospital _and_ Spencer. Spencer had passed out when she heard that her brother had been hit, and the doctor recommended she stay over night to make sure she was stable before she went home. Ashley knew she had to go see Spencer, and at the hospital was her best bet; Spencer had told her father that she didn't want to see her and Ashley was devastated with the news that Spencer didn't want to see her, but she knew that the fact that Spencer had told her dad and not her mom was a sign that there was hope. If Spencer had told her mom that, there would probably be police officers standing by the door, looking for a one Ashley Davies, brown hair, brown eyes, five foot three… So she knew there was hope.

"I'm so sorry," Ashley said again. "I shouldn't have even had to think about the choice between you and Aiden. I love Aiden, but I'm _in_ love with you. I know I've been spending all that time with him, but he's like my brother. And I needed someone to talk to about _you_. You're completely new territory to me. I've never been in love with someone. I should have told you that then, so that I wouldn't have to sneak in here now." Ashley sighed. She wondered how she could feel so empty, but her body could feel so heavy. "When those guns went off, the first person I thought about was you," Ashley paused. "Aiden pulled me down, but I just wanted to get to you. I just wanted to keep you safe. I'm so happy that you are, even if you never talk to me again. You deserve to live." Ashley scooted further up in her chair so she was closer to Spencer. She reached for her hand laying on the bed, but caught herself; she didn't want to wake her up. She squeezed her hands together, as if Spencer's hand was between hers. "I love you," her voice cracked. She thought she had no tears left, but what she really had lost was her will. The tears fell. "I love you so much," her voice dripped with desperation.

She sat rocking in her chair for a few moments before she composed herself. She wiped her eyes and sat up straight. "I love you, Spencer." She said one last time. She looked at her phone to check the time. _1:17 AM_ it read. She didn't realized how long she had been sitting there she gathered her bearings and headed toward the door. She looked back at Spencer one last time before she left. "No matter how long it is until we fix this, or even if we never do, I will not be with anyone either than you. I'll wait forever if I have to." She whispered her promise into the air, and then quietly shut the door behind her.

The moment the door closed, Spencer's eyes slowly opened. "I love you too,"sShe whispered at the door, "and I hope to God you don't have to wait forever."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, I feel like a hypocrite right now, because I am one. I totally hate it when people take a long time to update, but that's what I did. I'm kind of justified in taking so long because I had finals last week, but not really. Well, I don't think this chapter's all that great, it seems kind of like filler stuff, but I felt like I needed to put it in. This delayed updating might happen often, especially since I'm leaving on vacation in the beginning of July and I'll be gone for a little more than two weeks. I'll try to update more than once before I leave, but I won't promise anything. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Paula gently shook Spencer awake. "Spence, honey, wake up." She said softly. 

Spencer's eyes fluttered open and she smiled. For a moment the events from the night before felt like a dream, then she remembered they had actually happened. She couldn't believe that it had all happened less then twelve hours ago. Ashley's confession when she had snuck into Spencer's room stuck in her mind though. _"I love you, Spencer."_ It repeated in her mind over and over. She remembered the desperation in her voice.

"Spencer," Paula said. She didn't respond. "Are you okay?" Paula asked, sincerely concerned. She knew that the shooting last night could be traumatizing, especially since Spencer's brother had been shot.

"Yeah," Spencer looked at her mom, "is Glen okay?"

"Of course, honey. He needs to be here a little longer, though." Paula paused. "Good news, though. Your doctor thought you'd be discharged by ten this morning, but he said you can leave now. It's only eight forty-five." She smiled and rubbed her daughter's arm comfortingly. Looking at Spencer at that moment, Paula knew that she'd love her daughter no matter what. It didn't mean she approved of the decisions she had made, but she realized hurtful she had been and felt ashamed. Nevertheless, she had not changed her mind about Ashley. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked one more time.

Spencer looked at her hands and paused before replying. "Yeah, just ready to go home."

"Alright, let's get you out of here then.

* * *

Ashley was pulled from her sleep by her shrieking alarm and sat up. Unlike Spencer, Ashley couldn't get the reality of the past night's events out of her head. She shook her head as if to shake of the memories as they all came flooding back again. But above all of the tragedy and drama, the most prominent on her mind was her relationship with Spencer. 

"What am I gonna do?" she asked herself and fell back onto her bed. She ran through the possibilities in her mind. She could go to Spencer now, and have her still be angry with her. Or she could talk to Spencer later, and have her probably be angry with her. Ashley sighed deeply. "Why do I do this to myself?" She thought about it and slapped her forehead. "What am I saying, why do I do this to Spencer?" she rolled over in her bed and thought some more. She decided just to leave the whole situation alone for a while. Spencer and her family were dealing with the drama from the shooting, and she knew they didn't need anymore.

Feeling somewhat satisfied with her decision she sat up. "Dammit," she thought, "I have to talk to Aiden."

* * *

The car was silent on the way home. Paula wanted to talk to Spencer and see how she was feeling about the shooting the night before, but she didn't want to push her. Spencer just didn't want to talk. She had too much to think about. The shooting, Ashley, her brother, Ashley, Aiden, Ashley. She mostly had Ashley on her mind. 

_Spencer, what are you going to do?_ She thought to herself. _You know you love Ashley, so why aren't you going to her right now and telling her that?_ She nearly smacked herself in the forehead, but stopped herself when she remembered she was in the car with her mom. She sighed. _You know why you have to wait. Ashley really hurt me this time. I know a lot of it is on Aiden, but if Ashley had been more decisive, I wouldn't feel like this. I mean, she looked like she had to think about it, like maybe she still felt something for Aiden._ Spencer sighed again.

"Spencer?" Paula said.

Spencer snapped out of her thoughts and realized that the car was stopped and they were parked in the driveway. She looked at her mom.

"Are you okay?" Paula asked, she had heard Spencer sigh multiple times and was worried by the troubled look on her face.

"Yeah, mom. Fine." Spencer said, trying to reassure her. "I'm just going to take a shower and change before we go back to visit Glen, okay?"

"Okay." Paula said, as Spencer opened the door and got out of the car. She remained in her seat, watching Spencer go into the house. She sighed and leaned back into her seat. She didn't know what to do. Glen was in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg, Clay was expecting to be a father, and Spencer had questioned her sexuality and ended up with a girlfriend. Not only that, but Glen was now sober after a drug addiction and she knew that he'd have to be on meds again, Paula knew he was strong, but the temptation would be stronger now than ever. Clay and Chelsea were getting ready to go off to college, but now with a baby coming, didn't know what to do. And she couldn't even talk to Spencer. She knew it would take a long time to fix things with Spencer and she was more than willing to try, but until that happened, she knew she would never really know what was going on with her. With that final thought, she heaved another sigh, and got out of the car. She walked to the front door with heavy footsteps, and opened the door. She walked slowly into the kitchen, feeling exhausted.

_Paula—_

_I had to go to work, there was an emergency case. So sorry I couldn't be there when you got home, I tried to get out of it, but I really couldn't. I'll be home as soon as possible. I love you._

_Love,_

_Arthur_

Paula smiled a little. She heard footsteps, and turned to see Spencer enter the kitchen with her hair still damp. Spencer opened her mouth to say something when the phone rang. Paula turned around and answered it.

"Hello, Mr. or Mrs. Carlin?" a woman's voice came over the phone.

"Yes, this is Mrs. Carlin." Paula answered.

"I'm just calling to inform you that school will resume on Monday."

"Yeah," Paula said, a little thrown off, "okay."

"Thank you." The woman said, and hung up before Paula could respond.

"Spencer, you have school on Monday." Paula said.

Spencer sighed. "This sucks."

* * *

An hour after deciding to let things cool with Spencer and deciding she needed to tell Aiden, Ashley willed herself out of bed, took a shower and got ready. She desperately didn't want to go talk to Aiden, but she knew she had to. 

On her way out, she stuck her head into Kyla's room.

"Hey." Ashley said. "How you doing?"

Kyla had been lying back on her bed. She sighed as she sat up. "I've been better." She laughed bitterly. "Gosh, I hate Aiden so much right now." She looked down. "The worst part is, I don't know if I can keep hating him."

Ashley smiled knowingly. "I know how you feel, little 'sis. I really do. I felt the same exact way before, but right now, I totally hate him." Kyla nodded. "But," Ashley said, "I'm not saying that it's bad to feel that way. Aiden's a really good guy, he can just be a freakin' idiot sometimes." They both laughed, and then there was a quiet moment. "Kyla, I'm sorry." Ashley said.

"For what?" Kyla asked.

"I've been like the worst sister ever. But I'm really glad things have changed. And I'm really sorry about the whole Aiden thing." Ashley's apology was sincere, and Kyla could see that.

"Ashley," she said as she stood up, "it's okay. I mean, the sister thing, it was hard for both of us, and it's not like I was so nice." Kyla and Ashley laughed, "But about the Aiden thing, it's not your fault. Really."

"Thanks, Kyla." Ashley said as they hugged each other. After they released each other, Ashley made a face.

Kyla laughed, "What?"

"I have to go talk to Aiden." Ashley said, obviously unhappy about it.

"Oh," Kyla said, "I know understand what the face was for."

They laughed. "I so don't want to do this, but I have to." Ashley stayed put for a second, then sighed. "Okay, I'll see you later."

"Later." Kyla said. "Good luck!" she called out after Ashley.

"Thanks!" she heard Ashley yell, already going down the stairs.

Kyla sighed as she fell back onto her bed. _I feel like what's going on with me is way less important than everyone else, but it really hurts._ She thought to herself. She groaned and rolled onto her stomach. _The best thing for me to do is wait. If it ends up that I don't hate Aiden anymore, then whatever, but I have to wait and see what happens._


	3. Chapter 3

Hey People!

I don't know if anyone's still interested in this story, but I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long. I was actually on vacation from the second of July until the seventeenth, so that's kind of an excuse. Anyway, this will probably happen on a regular basis. Sorry. I get bursts of inspiration. Hopefully I'll have time and inspiration this summer, I kind of have a story mapped out. I have a feeling some people won't like it. Just a warning…

Thanks!

Nicole

* * *

"Damn you, Aiden." Ashley whispered as she opened her car door. "Damn you."

"Exactly the greeting I was hoping for." He smiled a little.

"Aiden, what the hell are you doing here?" Ashley nearly yelled. "And why are you smiling like that?"

Aiden sadly looked down. "Ash, I said it last night, I'll say it again. I love you. Please—"

"No," Ashley cut him off harshly. "No," she looked down and paused to gather her thoughts. She planned to sort them out in the car. "Aiden," she began calmly, "you are one of my best friends, but how could you do this? Especially now? How could you do this to me, and more importantly Spencer. And Kyla, your GIRLFRIEND."

"Ashley, come on. What we had before, it was real. And things ended the wrong way. We should still—"

"Aiden," Ashley yelled, stopping him. "Yeah, it was real. _Then._ And yeah, things didn't end well and there were left over feelings and problems that weren't resolved. So maybe this is our fault, maybe we shouldn't have kept on being so close. But really, how long has it been since then? And how many hook-ups have we both had since then? If you really still love me like that, what took you so long? Things with Spencer were going perfectly." Ashley kept talking, not letting Aiden get a word in. "I _love_ her. I love her in a way I didn't know existed. It's so real and so wonderful. And I don't even deserve any of that. I used to wonder if I was dreaming or something. So why? Why did you have to wait until now? You played with Kyla's heart and accused her of cheating, when you say that you're in love with someone else, someone else who's her freaking sister!"

"Ash," Aiden hesitated as if expecting her to interrupt, but she stayed silent. "Ash, please don' ask why, because I don't know. But I saw your face, there was something there. Come on, Ash. Please." He was practically begging.

"No, Aiden. You please." Ashley was getting angry. "What happened to 'Tell me you don't love me and I will walk away from this?'" Ashley gave him a hard stare. "Look, if you really love me the way you say you do, and if you really know what the hell you're doing, you would know why it took you so long. You said that there was something thing in my face, like I felt something? Yeah, okay. I admit I did. For a second I had to think about it. And I hate myself for having to do that. When you and I were together, everything was happy and nice and easy. And I sort of missed that. For a split-second. Yeah, I wasn't an outcast then and my dad was still alive and I had friends, but we can't go back. I learned that. Everything I've been through is worth it to have Spencer with me, to be with her. If you and I were back together, it wouldn't be the same as before. Too much has happened. And dammit Aiden, did you think about ANYONE other than yourself? Spencer won't talk to me. She wouldn't even let me into her hospital room," Ashamed, Aiden looked down when he heard this, "and you broke my sister's heart!"

"Look Ash, I'm sorry. But I was just thinking about you and me…"

"There are other people besides you and me."

"I get that, but I just…" he trailed off.

"I. Am. Not. In. Love. With. You." Aiden looked at her in shock. "I'm not. I haven't been for a long time. I'm not even sure I was the whole time we were together. Yeah, I love you—like a brother. But after this," she let out a long sigh, "I don't know. I just don't think that we should hang out for a while. At least until everything is resolved."

"I really think that you're making a mistake, but I said I'd walk way so I will. See you around, Ash." Aiden said as he walked backward.

"Bye." She spoke the word almost coldly. Hearing that, Aiden turned around and walked to his car.

Ashley leaned against her car. "If only you heard me say that, Spencer." She whispered. She glanced at Aiden's car as it drove away and whispered one last, "Damn you."

A few minutes later, Kyla heard the faint sound of a door closing downstairs. "Ashley?" she called down the stairs.

"Yeah." Ashley sounded exasperated.

"Kyla stood up and went to the top of the staircase. She looked down and saw Ashley trudging up the stairs. "What happened? I thought you were going to Aiden's."

"Yeah, well the dickhead showed up here."

"What?" Kyla said, surprised. "What an ass hole! I can't believe him. What did he say?"

"He basically told me the same thing he told me last night." _Except he was begging._ Ashley thought. She didn't say it though, it would only make Kyla feel worse. "I went off on him and yelled at him and asked him how he could do that to Spencer, you, and me." Ashley paused. "Then I told him that I wasn't in love with him and we should stay away from each other for a while."

The two had made their way to Kyla's room and Kyla flopped face first onto her bed when Ashley finished. "That's harsh." Suddenly she sat up angrily, "But he deserves it. I hate him so much right now!" she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Thanks, Ash, for stick up for me."

"No problem." Ashley replied. "That boy's freakin' idiot, I swear."

"I completely agree." Kyla paused in thought. "You know what? I'm not even going to talk to him. "She said smugly with a defiant look in her eyes." I'm not going to look at him, I'm not going to even acknowledge his presence."

"Good for you little sister!" Ashley said, laughing a little, then sighed. "You and me are going to have a lot of time to hang out now, with Spencer and Aiden gone." She rolled her eyes playfully.

Kyla laughed. "I think we'll have some truly special times together." Kyla said dramatically.

"And you're in drama club?" Ashley said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Kyla exclaimed and swatted at Ashley with a laugh.

* * *

"Spencer ready to go?" Paula called up the stairs.

A moment later she heard, "Yeah, in a minute." A few minutes later, Spencer came down the stairs; changed, hair dried, and ready to go.

"Let's go." Paula said with a small smile. Spencer smiled a little back and followed. _You know, _Paula though, _I am blessed. All of my children are safe. Even though Spencer has strayed and I reacted completely irrationally and too harshly, she still loves me and we're still a family._ Paula smiled a little bigger and felt a little cheerier.

A few minutes into the car ride, Paula decided to just tell Spencer about her recent revelation. "Spencer?"

"Yeah, mom?" she replied, looking to her mom.

"Honey," Paula sighed, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. What happened last night, it made me realize that I love you no matter what. I feel so ashamed that it took me so long to come around and that it took something this dramatic to help me realize it, but it's the truth. I love you Spencer, no matter what. You are my daughter and I'm sorry."

Spencer looked at her mother in surprise. "Thanks, mom." She said with a smile growing on her lips.

"Now I don't want to ruin a good moment, but I have to tell you that I don't fully accept Ashley. I will tolerate her and I'll try not to give you grief about your relationship despite what I feel. I don't know if I ever will, but I won't make you feel ashamed about the subject or keep you away from her."

Spencer felt a little let down knowing that it was probably that her mother would never accept her relationship or really who she was, but she was thrilled that she could have freedom now. She grinned as she looked out the window. Quickly, though, her smile faded. "One thing, mom." Spencer said in a subdued tone.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Well, at prom, Ashley was dancing with Aiden, and I wouldn't think anything of it, but I found out that Aiden confessed that he loved Ashley and the he wanted to get her back." Spencer paused. "Ashley didn't make an immediate decision, so I got mad and was going to leave when the drive-by happened."

"Honey, I'm so sorry. Maybe I won't tolerate Ashley, I mean—"

"Mom, hold on." Spencer stopped her. "I told Dad not to let Ashley in my hospital room to see me. He said that she'd been waiting the whole time, but I wouldn't let him tell her she could come in. But, Ashley's Ashley, so she snuck into my room later, after hours." Spencer paused. By then they had reached the hospital. Paula had parked and they sat in the car talking. "I was awake, but I pretended to be asleep because I didn't know if I could facer her. She apologized and told me she loved me and that she was sorry and that she would wait forever for me." There was another pause. "Mom, I love her so much." Spencer was on the verge of a breakdown.

Paula rubbed Spencer's back comfortingly. She was glad that her daughter could finally talk to her again. "Oh, Spencer," she said. "Look, as much as I think that girl is a bad influence on you," Paula paused, it pained her to tell her daughter that Ashley loved her, "it seems like she really loves you. I mean, really. She stuck around even when I gave you both hell. That means something. If she wasn't serious about you, she would have walked out a long time ago."

Spencer looked at her mom and smiled. "Thanks, mom."

"If I had been her, I would have ran away and changed my name if I would've had to face me." Spencer let out a chuckle. "I'm sorry honey."

"It's okay, mom." They both breathed their own sighs of relief; Paula for the fact she and Spencer seemed to be okay and Spencer because her Mom seemed to be sincere about tolerating Ashley and their relationship. "So, let's go see Glen!" Spencer said.

* * *

_What the hell?_ Aiden thought as he drove away from Ashley's house. He hit the steering wheel. _I swear, between Glen and Spencer I'll never keep a girl. First Madison, then Spencer—thanks Ash—and now Ashley? Damn! And now I'm the ass because I totally lead Kula on!_ Aiden turned into his driveway and sat in the car. He calmed down a little. _I was an ass to Kyla. A damn hypocrite too. I mean, I did have fun with her, and there was some level of attraction._ He sighed. _Maybe Ashley's right, maybe there isn't anything between us anymore. I mean, things ended badly and there were leftover feelings and issues that never got resolved._ Aiden shook his head. _I'll just go with that._

He got out of his car and went to his room as soon as he got inside his house. He heard his phone go off; alerting him he had a new text message. He read it and put his phone down surprised. He sighed. _I guess I better go see how he's doing. Even if he's an ass, he might not be able to ever play with a shot leg, and that sucks._ He sat back up and went outside to his car. He thought about his whole situation with Ashley. He remembered what she'd said about Kyla and Spencer. Now that he'd calmed down, he realized what an idiot he was. _This is not good. I've only added to the stress of what happened at prom. Ash _was _right, damn me._ Aiden continued with his self pity before he realized what he'd jut thought. _Ashley was right,_ he thought slowly, _Ashley was right. She was rational and logical and unselfish. Wow, maybe Spencer is better for her than I thought._

When he got to the hospital, he asked where Glen Carlin's room was. _Room 43, fourth story._ Aiden thought. He rode the elevator up and wandered through the hallway he'd been directed to by a nurse until he found it. He knocked first, and hearing no response, he opened the door and stepped inside. He froze at the sight before him. Glen was lying on the bed, his right leg elevated in a sling hanging from above. But it wasn't that that made him freeze, he'd expected to see Glen like that. I was Spencer and her mom sitting beside Glen's bed that made him freeze.

Both Spencer and Paula looked up and their smiles faded when they saw him. They had been having a nice conversation with Glen, but since they both knew what had happened the night before, the happy mood quickly dissipated. Spencer was unhappy because at the moment, she hated Aiden. Paula because she knew some drama or awkwardness would soon ensue. Glen, on the other hand, was unaware of the current dispute between Spencer and Aiden and his goofy grin remained. Somehow his injury had made him happier. Even though another one of his plans had been ruined, he was happy to be alive. And he was happy to see his mom and his sister civil and even happy together. That was more important than joining the army or playing basketball.

"Hey man!" He greeted Aiden.

"Hey." Aiden said pensively as he slowly made his way into the room. He stood on the opposite side of that bed that Spencer and Paula were on. Spencer had that one third angry, one third disappointed, and one third disbelieving expression on her face (the one where her eyebrows are a little furrowed) she usually directed toward Ashley when she did something wrong. She shook her head slightly and stood up.

"I'll see you later, Glen." She said before she exited the room.

Glen looked on in confusion. "What was that?" He asked.

Paula looked to Aiden. "He'll explain." She stated before squeezing Glen's hand and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later, honey." She said and then left.

Glen looked at Aiden expectantly. "So?"

* * *

Clay's eyes fluttered open. He raised his head to observe his surrounding. He was on an old couch in Chelsea's studio. He had his arms wrapped around her and they were both wrapped in a blanket. He remembered everything from the night before when he saw they were both still dressed in their prom get ups; a wrinkled suit with a missing tie for Clay, and a wrinkled, disheveled dress for Chelsea. He sighed and let his head all back to where it had been resting.

He felt Chelsea stir next to him. "Clay? Are you awake?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, baby. You can go back to sleep." She nodded and settled back into his arms. He stroked her cheek with one hand as he thought about the night before. He remembered Chelsea shaking in his arms. He remembered her crying and asking him if he could stay. She had been so scared and shaken the night before. He held her for hours until she fell asleep. It hadn't been easy for him to fall asleep either, but he was so exhausted that sleep found him not long after she did. And now, sleep was claiming him once again.

"Clay, Clay, wake up." His eyes fluttered open the second time that morning. "Clay, are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake, baby." He said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Chelsea sighed. "Baby, I'm scared."

Clay took her hand and looked into her eyes reassuringly. "I know, baby." He said as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I know, but everything will be okay. I'll be here to protect you always, okay?"

Chelsea sighed. A smile formed on her lips. She closed her eyes briefly, then said, "Thank you, Clay. For everything. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Clay smiled at her. "Don't worry, okay?" He pulled Chelsea closer to him. "Just give the situation some time. It'll cool down. We just have to wait."

Clay's phone chimed. He grabbed it off the floor where it had been dropped next to his tie and Chelsea's clutch. _One new message_ it read. He opened it. "It's from Spencer." he told Chelsea. "Glen's been shot." He said in disbelief, Chelsea gasped. "He's okay though. He's awake and should be going home in a week or so." He read the next bit and sighed. "We have school tomorrow." Chelsea sighed deeply along with him. "I guess they don't want to wait." Clay breathed out softly.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back with an update. It's hardly worth the wait (if anyone was waiting) of a month, but I've been busy/lazy. I'm probably never going to be able to update regularly and quickly, but I'll keep trying. This one's not too long at all, sorry.

* * *

"So…" Aiden started, but trailed off. 

"So what?" Glen said impatiently. He was beginning to get angry. Aiden had done something to hurt his sister, and he wanted to know what. Glen glared at Aiden.

"Uh," Aiden sat down and stared down at his feet, clasping and unclasping his hands. _Why am I so scared?_ He thought to himself. _The dude's in a hospital bed._

"Spit it out, or I'm calling Ashley and asked her." Glen threatened.

_Damn._ Aiden thought. "Okay, uh, well, it happened at prom—"

"No kidding." Glen sneered. "The longer you stall, the closer I get to calling Ashley."

"Fine," Aiden said quickly, "well, I asked to dance with Ashley, you know as friends. So we were dancing and then a slow song came on, and…" Aiden looked down, quite shamefully. Glen had a feeling he knew what came next. Aiden sighed. "I had to tell Ashley how I felt, I couldn't stand it anymore. I told her I was still in love with her. I told her that if she wasn't in love with me, I'd walk away." Aiden paused. "Before she could answer, Spencer came."

Glen's anger had been steadily increasing. When he heard the last bit, he teetered near the edge, but held himself back.

"I told Spencer what I said. We started arguing and she got upset and started to leave. Then the drive by…" Aiden trailed off and looked up. They made eye contact for the first time. When Aiden saw how furious Glen looked his eyes widened. "Look, I'm sorry—"

"You asshole!" Glen yelled at him, gutting him off. "My sister was happy, HAPPY. Ashley's not my favorite chick ever and the whole gay thing's kinda weird, but she was freakin' happy with Ashley." Glen didn't know where he was getting these words, but they kept pouring out. "You ruined that? I mean how could you say that? Didn't you see that they were happy and in love? If they broke up over this, you're dead." It was true, Glen had blamed Spencer's relationship with Ashley for their parents' troubles, but his mom had told him about her change of heart earlier and we was coming around too. In fact he came all the way around when Aiden told him what happened. He continued glaring at Aiden and saw him guiltily look back at his shoes and then up at him. "No," Glen shook his head, "tell me what happened."

"Well, they're not exactly together." Aiden said meekly. Glen exploded. He tried to hit him, but Aiden was just out of reach. Glen continued flailing his arms in attempt to hit Aiden, but was unsuccessful. "Look man, I tried talking to Ashley; she doesn't want me, she wants Spencer, okay?"

"You mean you went back to her and tried again?" Glen screamed. "ASSHOLE!" He tried again to his Aiden.

Aiden stood and backed up. "Whoa, dude. I'm sorry, okay?" He turned to leave.

"Don't come back!" Glen yelled at him and threw a Jello cup at him. Aiden turned around and gave him a dirty look before leaving. He nearly ran into Spencer and her mom on the way out.

Spencer looked to her mom, ignoring Aiden. They looked angry, but amused. They had heard the last part of the exchange and caught a glimpse of Aiden being pegged in the rear with a strawberry Jello cup. The two giggled a little and Aiden just walked past them, obviously embarrassed. Despite her newfound contempt for all things Aiden, Spencer found the sight of him walking out of a hospital room defeated by a boy with his leg in a sling lying in a hospital bed funny and strangely cute. She shook off the feeling, knowing one day she'd stop hating him. After all, he'd been her first crush in LA. Kind of. He'd been her first pseudo-crush she'd had in order to distract herself from Ashley. That had to mean something, right?

"Hey Glen." Spencer called out as she entered his room.

"Spencer," Glen face was serious, "I'm sorry." He saw Spencer open her mouth to interrupt him, but he shook his head to stop her and continued. "Look, I was never supportive of you, in fact I brought you down a whole lot since we moved. And I'm sorry. You're my baby sister, I love you for whoever you are okay?" Glen smiled warmly at her.

"Thanks, Glen." Spencer said softly and went to hug Glen. The feeling was bittersweet and reminded her of her exchange with her mom earlier. She was happy that Glen accepted her and supported her, but she and Ashley weren't together anymore. She sighed and hugged Glen a little tighter.

Paula was watching her son and daughter hug and grinned. The awful incident at prom had brought on some truly wonderful things. She was interrupted in her thoughts by Glen telling his sister that the hug had lasted long enough. Paula chuckled to herself.

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Ashley wandered into Kyla's room. "Hey." She said glumly.

"Hey." Kyla said looking up at her from whatever she was doing at the computer. "You sound so down."

"You sound so peppy. Why?" Ashley said with a hint of joking bitterness.

Kyla laughed. "I don't feel that bad. Don't' know, it's like I just suddenly realized that losing Aiden isn't that huge of a deal. I mean, we had fun and I really liked him, but we weren't quite at the love stage yet, you know?"

Ashley nodded. "You think you would've gotten there?"

"Maybe," Kyla said. "But I'm not worried about what would've happened." She paused. "I don't want to be worried about it."

"Good mind set. So, you ready for school tomorrow?"

Kyla groaned. "Don't' even mention school to me." They both laughed lightly. "Hey, wild child, shouldn't you be out throwin' back shots and partying your ass off?"

"You would think so, huh?" Kyla nodded with a faint smile. She knew the reason why Ashley wasn't out. "Ever since Spencer, you know? I don't want to go back to the person I was before. Especially because if I do, it'll be even harder to get back with Spencer. Plus, it would just prove everybody right, and you know how I hate that." Ashley and Kyla laughed at her last remark.

Kyla reached over and hugged Ashley. "I'm glad you're doing the right thing." Ashley hugged back. When they pulled away, she had a disgusted look on her face. "What?" Kyla asked.

"We must look like the family from Full House or something right now. Cue the bad hair and cheesy music." Kyla just laughed, having the perfect TV family wasn't all that bad.

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When dinner time came around, all the Carlins gathered in Glen's hospital room. Glen sat in his bed with a smile of his face. He looked around and realized the rest of his family had matching smiles on their faces.

Arthur and Paula seemed more united as parents and shared a few smiles across Glen's bed. Paula had raked a break for dinner and Arthur had brought dinner to the hospital. They were having a family dinner.

Clay sat next to Spencer, smiling like the rest. He had been able to reassure and comfort Chelsea, and the two felt as if they'd returned to their pre-pregnancy state of blissful love. Things were going well.

Spencer was smiling too. Despite her current state of heartbrokenness, she was genuinely happy to see her family getting along and spending time together. She felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders now that Glen and her mother accepted her for who she was. Although she wasn't with the girl she loved, she could figure everything out without the additional stress of Glen and her mother's anger and intolerance.

Glen looked around one more time. He was happy. His family was happy. His family was _together._

Twelve hours later, Clay and Spencer were walking through the kitchen grabbing a quick breakfast before heading to school. They were both in a chipper mood as they got in the car. About a minute into the car ride, Spencer started to feel anxious and nervous. She knew she'd see Ashley; they had a class together and saw each other during passing periods throughout the day. She sunk down in her seat a little and sighed.

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At the same time, Ashley and Kyla were getting in to Ashley's Porsche. They both began to ask each other something, but stopped when they realized the other was talking.

"Spencer?" Ashley asked, guessing what Kyla was going to ask. Kyla nodded.

"Aiden?" Kyla asked and received a not from her sister. They both laughed sadly. "Well," Kyla started confidently, "I for one am not gong to let Aiden further ruin an already crappy school day."

"Good luck." Ashley said a bit sarcastically. "I," she matched Kyla's confidence in her tone, but it quickly dissipated, "have no idea what I'm going to do."

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Aiden looked in the mirror one last time and sighed. He grabbed a bagel on his way out and then got into his car.

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Clay pulled into a parking space and turned to Spencer. "You gonna be okay today?"

Spencer put on a small smile and nodded. "Thanks." She said softly.

"The torture begins now." Ashley said as she reached for the door handle. Kyla looked at her sympathetically and smiled.

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Aiden parked his car and sighed one more time. He grabbed his backpack and opened his door.

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Spencer stepped out her car door and found herself face to face with Ashley. They both froze.

"So, no game plan still?" Kyla's voice wafted over the car. Upon hearing no response, she walked around the car to find Ashley and Spencer standing a few feet away from each other awkwardly and looking down.

"So, I'll meet you here after—" Clay said as he got out of the car. He looked up and saw Ashley, Spencer, and Kyla standing awkwardly next to the car.

A Nissan Xterra swung into the parking space facing the Carlin's car. A tired looking Aiden stepped out. He shut the door and looked up to see Clay on the driver's side of the Carlin car looking at Spencer, Ashley, and Kyla all on the other side of the car.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I'm updating before school starts. I don't know how often I'll be able to when school starts.

* * *

"Um, I…" Ashley mumbled before she finally looked up. Spencer looked up at the same time upon hearing Ashley's voice. Once the two made eye contact, they both froze and fell back into an awkward silence. 

Aiden, not knowing what to do, gave Kyla a sheepish smile and wiggled his fingers in a half-assed wave.

_Oh my gosh, he's such an idiot!_ Kyla thought to herself. She fought the urge to flip him, remembering her earlier decision to not let Aiden get to her.

_Damn._ Aiden cursed to himself. _Kyla's mad at me too. Wait a minute, of course she is._ Aiden mentally slapped himself. _Man, I'm such an idiot. Maybe I can get away without them noticing._ Aiden slowly backed away and left.

Clay saw Aiden run off, but barely paid any attention to it. He had to get away too. "Uh, so, I'll see you after school, Spence."

Spencer snapped her head up at the sound of Clay's voice. "Okay, see you." She said. She looked back at Ashley.

"So, um," Ashley tried again, "I gotta get to class." She finally muttered. She turned quickly, her eyes still on the ground, and walked away. At that point, her cheeks were burning pink. _I'm such a freaking doofus!_ She thought as she walked away.

Kyla waved to Spencer, "So, I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Spencer nodded and Kyla ran off to catch up with Ashley.

Spencer sighed and looked around for the first time since she's arrived at school. Everyone had escaped except her. _Today's going to be hell. A very awkward hell._ She thought as she walked off to class.

**-----**

"Ash, wait up!" Kyla called out.

Ashley turned around. "Sorry, but could that have gone any worse? I had to get out of there fast." She brought her hand up to her forehead in distress.

"Key, it probably could've okay?" Kyla tried to reassure her. "Look, I know it's going to kill you to see her around, but just do what you said yesterday. Give it a little time. But you know you're going to have to face her and straighten it out."

"I guess." Ashley said without much enthusiasm. "At least I have school to distract me. I'm going to, like, try or whatever."

Kyla snickered at her sister's attitude. "That's good, Ash." The bell rang, signaling the start of first period. "Let's go try hard!" she said, mocking Ashley.

"Or whatever." Ashley said under her breath. Kyla elbowed her and gave her a look. "I mean, let's go get an A!" she said with faux excitement. The two laughed as they parted ways to go to their separate classes.

Ashley shook her head as she walked to her English class. _I'm so glad I have Kyla. Even if she's a dork._ She thought. _I really have to shape up my life. I have people that care about me now. And I actually care about me now, too._ Finding herself at the doorway of her English class, she made her way to her seat and sat down, ready to pay attention.

**-----**

Kyla smiled all the way to her classroom. _Ashley seems like she's really going to stick to doing the right hing this time. I'm so proud of her._ She sat down in her seat, but was snatched away from her happy thoughts when she spotted Aiden a couple rows away. _Crap,_ she put her hand in her hand, _I have to sit in this freaking class for an hour with him._ She lifted her head up and glanced at him. As soon as she did, he looked away. "Idiot." She muttered to herself as the teacher began class.

**-----**

Spencer survived the first three classes of the day, ignoring her teachers and thinking. Thinking about where she and Ashley would en up, where she and her family would end up, where she and Aiden would end up. Three quarters through her third period, she decided she should worry about where she was now rather than where she would en up. After paying attention to the lecture for five minutes, she started wondering where Glen and Madison would end up. She was contemplating just how cocky their children would be if they ended up married when the bell rang. Spencer sighed and gathered her things to go to her next class.

With each step there her nervousness and apprehension grew. Ashley was in this class. She didn't know how she should act. _Should I talk to her?_ She wondered. _No, she should talk to me. but then I'm the one who wouldn't let her at the hospital. Well, it didn't stop her then, why should it stop her now? Because now I can talk back, of course._ She heaved one last sigh as she collapsed into her seat. _At least she's not here yet, I have a few minutes to gather my thoughts._

"Spencer?" Ashley's voice sounded to her right.

Spencer turned slowly and croaked out a, "Yeah?"

Ashley fidgeted in her seat for a moment. She didn't know where she'd gotten the courage to talk to Spencer, but she'd found it somewhere. _Say something else!_ She yelled at herself in her mind. _Yeah, I gotta give it time, but if we don't come to some kind of understanding now, it will always be awkward._ "Spencer, look. I—" She had finally managed to start when their history teacher's nasally voice cut through the air. Ashley looked at Spencer, he face looked apologetic and very disappointed by the fact that she had been interrupted.

_I gotta give her credit._ Spencer thought. _She's actually trying to talk and not running away._ Spencer gave Ashley a small smile just to reassure her that she would listen when they did talk.

That smile comforted Ashley. She knew it didn't' mean anything other than, "I know you were going to say something important, I'll listen to you when we get the chance to talk" but at least she knew Spencer would listen when she got her opportunity to talk.

Spencer glanced at Ashley, a bit surprised to see her with her pencil poised over her paper, ready to take notes. Ashley was actually paying attention to the lecture. _Wow,_ Spencer thought. _This is new._ She suppressed a giggle. _She looks so cute all studious like that._ She stopped herself from thinking any further. _I can't think like that right now._

Ashley felt Spencer's stare and glanced over. Spencer gave her a curious look, Ashley just shrugged and turned back to her note-taking.

**-----**

"Now I remember why I stopped paying attention in class." Ashley's exasperated voice flew into Kyla's ear.

"Why's that?" Kyla asked though she already knew the answer.

"It's so freakin' boring!" Ashley whined. "I mean, it's bad enough that it's like a requirement for teachers to have annoying voices, but then they drone on and on about stuff that's not even that hard to understand!"

Kyla laughed as she grabber her lunch and shut her locker door. "Ashley, did you know that you're smart?"

"What?" she replied, still thinking abut how unbelievably boring her classes were.

"You actually are." Kyla stated. Ashley motioned for her to continue, wondering where this was gong. "I mean, you've managed to pass every grade without ever actually trying." Kyla said. "Or going." She added thoughtfully.

Ashley thought about if for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "You're right, I'm a genius." She cocked her head to the side with a smirk.

"I wouldn't go _that_ far." Kyla said, but Ashley rolled her eyes and grabbed her arm to drag her off to eat lunch.

As they approached their usual table, the two sisters spotted Spencer sit down a bit hesitantly. To their surprise, a docile-looking Madison appeared. It looked like she'd made some sort of peace offering. Spencer nodded in acceptance and Madison sat down.

Ashley stopped walking. She remembered how awkward it was between her and Spencer and she wasn't sure she wanted a repeat of that. _I don't want to run away from the situation, but it's not like Spencer and I could really talk in front of Kyla and Madison. Plus I'm not sure if Madison's peace offering will extend to me too._

Kyla hadn't noticed that Ashley stopped until a few seconds alter and turned to see her totally spaced out, staring in the direction of Madison and Spencer. "Ash, come on."

"Uh, you know what? I'm just going to, uh, skip lunch. I mean, I've got a lot to catch up on, you know?" Ashley stuttered out. Kyla gave her a hard, skeptical look. "Okay, I'm just trying to avoid an awkward situation. For all of us." Kyla looked unmoved. "Look, I'm not running away or anything. I was this close," she demonstrated with her index finger and thumb, "to telling to Spencer in history, but our dumbass teacher started talking, okay? Believe me, if I go eat with you, it will be awkward for all of us."

"Fine," Kyla relented, "but you guys better figure something out soon." Ashley simply nodded. "I'll see you after school." Kyla said before walking the rest of the way to join Spencer and Madison.

Ashley backed up a little and watched their happy exchange sadly. After a minute she sighed and walked away. She remember that another awkward exchange might occur after school considering their parking situation, and decided it might be best if she parked somewhere else while she had a chance. She turned the corner around a building and saw Aiden's Xterra speeding away. Little did she know that Aiden had gone through the same thing she had. He had seen the whole thing between Madison and Spencer and retreated to his car, deciding to grab lunch elsewhere.

She didn't think much of Aiden leaving and unlock her car before hopping into the driver's seat. She was about to start the engine when she realized she should probably just leave the car. Spencer could misinterpret the action in a number of ways, and she knew they'd have to go through these awkward times anyway. She dropped her hand from the ignition and leaned back in her chair. She started to think of what she was gong to say to Spencer. she had started dozing off when the faint sound of the bell ringing seeped into her car. She sat up and saw kids walking through the hallways. She sighed, grabber her bad and headed off to class.

**-----**

Spencer had spent her last two classes of the day wondering if she should believe Ashley was beginning to chicken out of if she was still going to talk to her. School had ended without her really figuring it out. She made her way to her locker through the noisy hallway, still thinking about it.

Kyla spotted Spencer walking, and saw a look of concern on Spencer's face. She knew she shouldn't get involved, but she wanted to help Ashley out. She caught up with the blonde head just as she arrived at her locker.

"Hey Spencer!" Kyla greeted her with a smile.

"Hey." Spencer smiled at her before turning her attention back to her locker.

"Is something up?" Kyla asked.

"Not really, you know…" Spencer trailed off. She knew Kyla knew what, or who, was on her mind.

"Look," Kyla said, "Ashley, she's really turning around. Don't think she's running away, okay?"

"I really want to believe she isn't." Spencer said.

"Then believe she isn't." Kyla paused. "I believe she isn't."

"It's hard." Spencer said sadly.

"I know, but you just gotta have faith in her."

"It's hard." Spencer said chuckling a little. "I can't say she didn't warn me. She told me she wasn't easy before we were even together."

"That's not what I heard." Kyla said, joking.

Spencer laughed, "That's what I said." She paused. "She's _not_ easy, though." Kyla smirked at her. "To be with." Spencer added, shaking her head, but laughing.

"I know." Kyla said, seriously.

"But she's worth it." Spencer said softly, but just as sincerely as anything could possibly be said.

Kyla was glad that the hallway had cleared out a bit; otherwise she wouldn't have been able to hear her. She reached out and gave Spencer a hug. "You guys will work it out. I have faith in both of you."

Spencer smiled warmly. "Thanks."

"Now, I better go before she murders me. She went to all of her classes today _and _paid attention. I'm not sure if she's still sane."

The two laughed. "See you later." Spencer said. She sighed and leaned against her locker.


End file.
